Real Estate in Nigeria: What’s Trending in 2019 (House Installment Plans)

Since the start of the 21st century, real estate in Nigeria has been growing steadily, despite the economic downturns and recession in Nigeria.

With the increase in private investment and government collaboration, the real estate industry in Nigeria is set to bloom. Nevertheless, the huge demand for real estate products in Nigeria (with housing deficit at 17 million) makes the Nigeria real estate sector a hot cake.

Real Estate in Nigeria: The early 2000s

As a result of the return to democracy in 1999, the Nigeria economy was able to attract huge investors, which also coincided with the rise of mobile communication.

Therefore, the Nigeria real estate industry started thriving, with companies expanding and new companies propping up. Furthermore, land started appreciating and new cities were emerging, like Lekki, Ikoyi, Magodo, Isheri, Ikorodu, Ajah, etc.

However, the rise of real estate in Nigeria at this period also experienced some new challenges:

Rise of the menace of Local land owners (Omo onile), with many individuals and cooperatives in Nigeria being duped or land grabbed.
Government reclamation of land and houses, mostly for infrastructural purpose, with many Nigerians losing their houses without compensation.
Cost of land skyrocketed in the Lekki-Ajah axis, majorly because of the “New Lagos” initiative.
Constant inflation in building materials, especially cement, gave rise to an unprecedented rise in house prices.

Real Estate in Nigeria: The last decade (2008 - 2018)

Land acquisition was on a rise, investors were buying land in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, etc in acres and hectares. Some of these investors were private real estate firms while some were companies planning to expand.
Nevertheless, Nigeria’s housing deficit kept growing, till it hit an alarming 17 million in 2016. Although Nigerians were buying land from private real estate companies, but most of these acquired land were left bare, some who tried to build also got stuck.
In addition, a few private property developers were building houses in highbrow areas in Lagos and Abuja. But their efforts were not significant, as average Nigerians couldn’t afford it and demand was surplus to supply.
The Nigerian federal and state governments initiated some housing schemes and corporations, they also collaborated with few private developers to construct mass housing units. Yet, these schemes albeit encouraging are not effective, as awareness is low and requirements are high.

New trends in Nigeria’s Real Estate

Based on the little impact land acquisition has made on reducing Nigeria’s housing deficit, the Nigerian government (both state and federal) in collaboration with private real estate developers are initiating several home ownership schemes.
Depending, these schemes are spread all over Nigeria cities, from Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Ibadan. The payment plan varies though, from 12, 24 to 60 months. Since most of these projects are handled by private firms, awareness is relatively higher and competition is fierce.